Tell me about your journey from fat and can't move to fit.

[ferriswheel]

I'm 17 stone a bit overweight. I have lots of excuses reasons. If I do ten minutes exercise twice a day then how long will it take me to see a difference?

Start with low intensity excersie such swimming itll build.your core muscles would killing your joints. Move on to something like cycling where your not hitting your weight ibto your feet once youve lost enough for these to feel normal the i suggest walking moving up to running doing somthing like yoga all the way through. Its hard at 17 stone to start. I know. Im there. But once yourbthrough that first mental barrier youll get a high which is addictive. Well done for making the step of trying. Thats always the hardest.

2, 3 and 4 year old and you still have ten minutes to spare - I'm impressed!

It will make a huge difference because you will be doing something and will have taken control. ignore the a-holes

So, bad news is “you cannot out exercise a bad diet”. I heard this recently, and for some reason it stuck with me (where I’m pretty good at ignoring all truisms related to weight loss!).

BUT, I find that even if I only manage 10 minutes of walking or whatever, it changes the way I eat in the end. I find I don’t want to sabotage all my hard work (lol), by eating quite as much crap.

Whatever, good luck, and you have already shifted lets say 12 stone, by leaving that hideous ex. You’re already an amazing mother, woman!

Hey OP, my advice would be cut out wheat, stop eating just toast. Starving yourself won't do your weight loss any good in the long run. Lots of veg, lean meat/fish. Cut out sugar/booze. Focus on 10000 steps per day - even if you are just moving around the house, up and down the stairs. Fitbit is great for tracking steps - but your phone will do the job just as well. Two sets of 10 min HIIT daily and you'll soon see the difference (you can download these workouts from YouTube) all of this will greatly improve your mood too if things are a bit stressful ! Good luck !

Well done for starting OP! It's not easy, so kudos to you
When I started running I used to take the kids with me (mine are older) both as childcare and family/exercise time, so fit your exercise round your dcs, maybe you all do a YouTube video workout, go for a long walk, try a small run (the C25K app is free) and just have fun! Congrats on binning the shitty husband

I am 110k and have just hired a personal trainer to help me lose 30 kilos. We just started last week. She said for the first month I have to wake up my muscles, lots of stretching, half star jumps (literally doing your left side, and then your right side, repeat 20 times, three sets), high knees, three minutes steps using an app called metronome to pace me (about 95) and half an hours walk daily. There is obviously more but can't type (am snuggling /BF).

She said it's important to not push too hard, she doesn't want me to keel over, heart rate should be 118-136.

I know it's hard, I die a little every time I look in the mirror (used to be VERY fit), but she is super supportive and kind.

PM me if you wish, We can work through this together! X

With young kids, I’d try and incorporate exercise around them through play... Things like races, playing ‘it’ etc. Also, at that age kids tend to love joining in with stuff like star jumps. So It might all be quite random, but you’d be burning energy whilst parenting - a win-win!

Right - my advice is to get to Argos and buy an exercise bike. 15 km a day in the comfort of your living room - about half an hour- will make a huge difference.

I lost the weight first, and when I was within about a stone of my target started exercise.

Initially swimming and walking/jogging on a treadmill, but now I do two exercise classes per week.

The exercise didn’t help with weight loss, but I did feel better for it.

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. I really do appreciate it. The last two years have been traumatic in the most indescribable way and I think I have the strength to go and get me back. Its difficult. I've basically lived with someone who has slagged me off at every opportunity for as long as I can remember. I can't actually imagine that it happened. If you do happen to be in a relationship where you are treated badly then please get rid of whoever it is so you can enjoy being you.

Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement. I really do appreciate it. The last two years have been traumatic in the most indescribable way and I think I have the strength to go and get me back. Its difficult. I've basically lived with someone who has slagged me off at every opportunity for as long as I can remember. I can't actually imagine that it happened. If you do happen to be in a relationship where you are treated badly then please get rid of whoever it is so you can enjoy being you.

Sorry, I thought my first morning post had got lost.

Agree with the OP. The sneery fuckers up thread can fuck off.
OP exercise doesn't make you lose weight. It really is diet, however the endorphins and improved mental outlook from even minimal exercise will help with the diet. Good luck!

Not there

Yes. I guess that's my question. I used to swim two km and walk four miles most days. I needed it and looked forward to it. At the moment I know I could do ten minutes exercise. But I also know it will be a slog. I guess I'm wondering how long before I crave 15 minutes. I suppose that's what I mean.

Pp who were a bit sneery. I'm sure you meant it in a lighthearted way but to anyone in my shoes its hard to have a sense of humor when you're world has imploded.

the hardest part ime is getting started. once you have motivated yourself to get started the difference between 10 and 15 minutes will be negligible.

I was over 16st in 2016. In January I started the year at 15 and a half stone. I’m nearly 11 and a half stone now.

I have a physical job so that was my exercise and I completely changed my eating habits. I lost 2st and started a chair fitness burlesque class which burns around 800 cals. I now do 2 classes a week.

You do need to look at your diet for 80% of weight loss and 20% for exercise. You tube have some great work outs.

They say "abs are made in the kitchen not the gym" and "you can't outrun a doughnut" for a reason. Exercise is brilliant for many health and appearance reasons, but it improves what is there rather than reducing it IMO.

I would say, low-moderate carb, so cut right down on bread, pasta, chips, potatoes, anything sweet, and bulk up your plate with green veggies and meat/fish. Small cubes of cheese or nuts or ham as a snack. Then just walk when you can for the first few weeks. Go up and down the stairs ten times, that sort of thing.

At 17 stone you should see results fairly quickly and that should motivate you to keep going. Also look up some helpful phrases - one that really resonated with me personally was, "treats are for dogs. And you're not a dog." It helped me to break that cycle of, "I've had a shit day/been really good/it's Friday so I deserve a..."

@ferriswheel

I've lost nearly 2 stone in the last 8 weeks and its mainly diet, I only do 10-20 min exercise a day. You can see the difference in me already although I have a long way to go until I will be a healthy weight.

Maybe come over to weightloss chat, 10 stone to lose and 100lb plus to lose threads. Helpful and friendly bunch and we are all in the same position.

Ferris, exercise will be so good for you in helping get yourself back. Leaving any relationship, let alone a traumatic one, is hard. Spending however few minutes you can manage doing something for you will help clear your head, and be so good for you mentally.

I run for about half an hour a week (baby and preschooler at home). It’s that run that stops me from going completely overboard. It’s hardly having any effect on my weight (300 calories worth of exercise over a week, ha!) - but I can see that I’m getting faster and I like being out on my own doing something for me.

It will also help to change other activity habits. All progress is good. Good luck to you.

I don’t think she asked to be ripped a new one. Such a sad world when we can’t encourage and support another.

Look for healthy meals from scratch not always easy on a budget I know but eating crap or empty calories or nothing at all is no good for you, eating nothing will make you store it rather than loose it.

Start off slowly with exercise not matter how slow you’re going it’s faster than those sitting on their arse.

Aim 10 minutes everyday for one week, increase to 15 following week.

Be kind to yourself

10 mins is better than 0 mins. 10 mins might lead to 11 mins, and to 15 mins, and that might lead (in time) to 45 mins of full-on exercise. Making a start, however small, is the hardest part.

Unfortunately for the OP I think there's now an inherent suspicion that some threads are just started by lazy DM journalists - weight loss stories are always popular (as are weight gains for any celeb unfortunate enough to gain a pound!).

I weighed 15 1/2 stone at least in February (didn't dare to buy scales for for the first few weeks) and am now 13 stone. Done so through cutting out carbs and generally eating better with lots of veg in particular. I still want to lose another stone. I personally didn't bother with exercise until I'd lost a bit of weight, as I found it too hard when I was big, so if you are doing this already then well done! Now I'm making a real effort to walk faster and to build walking into my life a lot more - and it is so much easier to do when you're dragging less of you around - I've got to the point now that I enjoy it rather than find it an effort. I'm also doing a weekly pilates class which is bringing muscles back to life that I'd forgotten I had! Good luck!

I think start walking for half an hour a day, as briskly as you can manage, your fitness will still build up. Running may be a bridge too far yet, I know I find running a struggle at 13 stone odd, even though I'm an experienced runner. A stone less has made all the difference. If you can run - great, but don't beat yourself up if it's too hard. Low impact exercise which gets your heart rate up a bit would be the best thing just now, IMO.

Actually I think it would be good idea to ask for a fitness monitor band for Christmas, then you will be able to see your progress. Also having a FitBit helped me to see how many steps slim friends do - a lot more than I was doing!

While exercise is important for your heart you really need to spend much of your focus on diet and what you drink. I'd say go to your doctor anyway to get cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure checked and get their advice. If you can, also see a dietician- will probably cost about £100 for initial consultation, but one visit was enough for me to set me on the right track. You could easily spend that at WW or Slimming World.

Cutting back on snacks and alcohol (if you drink) will probably make an immediate difference. One tip my dietician said to me was to make your evening meal (on a 10" plate) 25% lean protein 25% carbs and 50% veg - it made me instantly cut my portion sizes.

Whatever you do has to be a long term and sustainable change of habits rather than a diet from which most people will rebound. And don't worry if you slip up along the way, see it as a long journey. Set yourself short term goals.

I started off calorie counting and using MyFitnessPal. Managed that for 3 months and got fed up, but I think it was useful for a time to reset portion control. I'm now doing 5:2, which I've been doing for several months and I find it very sustainable and even enjoyable. I've gone from BMI 31.5 to 27. More to go yet, but I'm enjoying being able to walk into a shop and know that a size 14 will definitely fit, or even be a bit loose, rather than wondering whether a size 18 will fit or at all look good. But find what works for you. Good luck.

IMO there are two ways to lose weight with exercise.

10 minutes twice a day of HIIT would make a real difference but if you’re morbidly obese and starting cold it would be horribly risky.
Upping your movement levels consistently in the other 15 and 2/3 waking hours (possibly by using a Fitbit) would also make a difference and would be safe.

However 20 minutes gentle to moderate exercise per day would have other real benefits in terms of health and general wellbeing - especially if you do it outside in the sunshine.